Condo living

There's a lively discussion on the Seattle PI 911 police blog about pot and condos. Specifically, what to do if your neighbor is smoking too much weed and stinking up the building.

The comments have a bunch of very spirited responses. Some people say be neighborly and tell them. Others say relax and mind your own business. A few suggest the police non-emergency line.

My general advice about owner-to-owner concerns:

In general, most problems are best addressed directly but in this case, you can probably write a kind, anonymous, note or ask the building manager to ask them to ventilate out or put a towel under their door. (Personally, I'd prob put a new air freshener on their door knob as a gentle nudge.)

The condo board might also be helpful but they're usually busy with bigger issues unless you want them to create a new rule or if the building manager didn't act effectively.

Calling the cops on your neighbors seems like an extreme option — especially if it's just smell. If they find out who called, it would be an awkward (and maybe even dangerous) elevator ride. At a minimum, I'd try the anonymous note before calling in the 5-0.

While this is an interesting incident, it does point out the realities of condo living for those who are downsizing or are used to grad school or college living. For the downsizers, you should be ready to give up some freedom when you go to a condo — both freedom from distractions as well as freedom to create them. For the more lively crowd that's coming from an apartment building, you'll need to be prepared for neighbors who may be a bit more sensitive to noise, smells, and other behavior you'd consider normal in a dorm or hip apartment building.